The phrase "a potential combatant" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used in contexts discussing individuals or groups that may engage in conflict or warfare.
Example: "In the ongoing conflict, each side must assess the capabilities of a potential combatant before making strategic decisions."
Alternatives: "an aspiring fighter" or "a possible adversary".
Every man, armed or unarmed, was a potential combatant and thus fair game.
Well, easy, I'm on the telephone, man, just leave us alone" — isn't addressed to a police officer or a potential combatant.
America is greatly concerned about the DPRK, but only because Washington still is involved in the peninsula as a potential combatant defending the South.
Under the Law of War we can hold this suspect as a potential enemy combatant not entitled to Miranda warnings or the appointment of counsel".
In Ain al-Helweh, a much larger camp with many more potential combatants, a similar conflict would most likely be a far more difficult fight.
The SDR had focused on the Middle East and North Africa, and had not envisaged a need to deploy troops to sub-Saharan Africa other than for a potential non-combatant evacuation operation in Zimbabwe.
While corporations and public utilities had long been viewed as the enemy in the environmental movement — an early motto at the defense fund was "Sue the bastards" — Mr. Graff showed a willingness to work with potential combatants.
In December 2011, writing for Foreign Policy, Arbour predicted Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, two obscure Central Asian countries to most Westerners, as potential combatants in a war over quickly depleting water resources.
"What are the issues?" Richard M. Miles, the American ambassador to Georgia, said in an interview last week that the United States had urged the potential combatants to disengage militarily and work toward negotiations.
It seems much more plausible that they intended, as they said, to eliminate the men as potential combatants.
